Today in China

A swing has been set on a 700ft high viewing platform on the TV tower in Harbin city, Heilongjiang province. That tower is known to be the world’s second-highest steel tower, after the Kiev tower in Ukraine.

The name of the swing is “Game for brave people”. The participants sit on a steel seat and swing above the city, beyond the edge of the platform.

Anyone wanna try this? Anyone already did?

Here are some advices from Beijing United Family Hospital about drinking habits and when too much is really too much…

For BJU, to enjoy alcohol without risking health, men should drink no more than four standard drinks each day; women should have no more than two standard drinks a day. Furthermore, everyone should have at least two alcohol free days a week.

Well, for me, that will be Sunday and Monday!

But what exactly do they mean by standard drinks? Here is the explanation, a standard drink consist of:
    - 10g of alcohol
    - 1 glass (285ml) of full strength beer (I suppose they are talking about Westmalle Tripel…)
    - 2 glasses of light beer (Hoegaarden?)
    - 5 glasses of very light beer (Yanjing?)
    - 1 small glass (100ml) of wine
    - 1 measure (30ml) of spirit
    - 1 small glass (60ml) of fortified wine (sherry or porto)

OK… tonight, I will have 2 Westmalle Tripel, 2 Hoegaarden and a Gin Tonic! With that I would be safe… if I leave my scooter at home!

Indeed, as they say in the brochure, alcohol contributes to many road accident. They explain that in China, it’s illegal to drive with a BAL (blood alcohol level) of more than 0.05 for most drivers. Interestingly, some professional drivers such as taxi drivers have their limit lowered to 0.02.

So, now, if I restrain myself to 4 standard drinks a day, have at least 2 alcohol free days a week and leave my scooter at home… Am I safe? Should I drink less? The brochure finishes with this list of questions:
    - Do you sometimes argue with family or friends because of your drinking?
    - Do you sometimes feel guilty about your drinking or hide your drinking from others?
    - Has your work ever suffered because of your drinking?
    - Do you ever get so drunk that you can’t remember what you did?
    - Do you ever drink to get rid of a hangover?
The advice is that if you answer yes to one or more questions, you should think about reducing the amount you drink.

Well, now that I finished this post, I’ll go to Beer Mania to get my 4 standard drinks of today. See you!

Funny story from the other side of the Formosa Strait…

Chen (陳), a 38-year-old teacher from Tainan County, won his divorce from Lin (林), 29, also a teacher. The reason of the divorce was that the bride was to shy to consummate the marriage…

On the wedding night, Lin slept fully dressed. When Chen tried to sleep with her, she pushed him away shouting: “You are ridiculous!”

In June, Chen filed for divorce with the Tainan District Court. Lin contested the divorce, claiming that she refused to consummate the marriage on the wedding night because she was too tired and was ill.
But the judge said it was strange for Lin to refuse to consummate the marriage for one year

The judge finally granted the divorce and ruled that Lin must give NT$300,000 to Chen in compensation for buying an apartment, giving Lin’s family a dowry and losing face because she did not consummate the marriage.

Source
Taipei Times

A desperate Chinese Student from Beijing University decided to “rent” a girlfriend for 10 days in order to show her off to his parents during the Chinese New Year break.
He proposes 1,000 RMB (100 EUR) for “an honest, kind and similar-aged girl with a diploma”. Anybody interested?

By the way, the University authorities warned women to be wary of such advertisement. Also, a professor from the Psychology Institution of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that the student was misleading himself, trying to show filial piety to his parents he was instead only cheating them…

Source
CRI English

This story happened recently in Jinan (济南, Jǐnán), Shandong Province (山东, Shāndōng). Pan Aiying, teacher at Wutou Middle school got her bag stolen while riding her bicycle back home. Her bag contained her mobile phone, bank cards and 4,900 RMB. Instead of calling the police, she decided to contact the thief on her stolen mobile. She first called the thief but her call was rejected. She then started to send the following SMS:

“Hey, buddy. I’m Pan Aiying, a teacher from Wutou Middle School. You must be going through a difficult time. If so, I will not blame you,”

“Keep the 4,900 yuan if you really need it, but please return the other things to me. You are still young. To err is human. Correcting your mistake is more important than anything,”

And so on…

After 21 SMS, she gave up and decided to call the police the next morning. The next day, before she called the police, she found her bag with everything inside in her courtyard. Within the bag was the following note from the thief:

“Dear Pan: I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me. You are so tolerant even though I stole from you. I’ll correct my ways and be an upright person.”

…

Source:
China Daily, 2007-01-23